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Activist Charged With Attempted Murder of Police Officers During Portland Riots

April 6, 2021Hannah Ray Lambert
Portland riots arrest of Malik Muhammed

Malik Muhammed, 24, faces attempted murder charges after the Portland Police Bureau said he threw firebombs at officers during the 2020 riots. He was arrested on April 2, 2021 in Indianapolis. Background photo courtesy PPB, mugshot courtesy of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

An Indianapolis man has been arrested on eight warrants out of Oregon, where police say he threw firebombs at officers and broke windows during riots last year in Portland.


FBI agents and Indianapolis police officers arrested Malik Muhammed, 24, Friday. He awaits extradition to Oregon on charges that include three counts of attempted murder, unlawful manufacture of a destructive device, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in public, according to the Portland Police Bureau.


Muhammed allegedly threw a firebomb that scorched a police officer’s uniform Sept. 23, 2020, in Portland.



Police claim he also threw an “incendiary device” that failed to ignite at police officers two days prior. Muhammed was not arrested during either of those demonstrations. However, he was arrested in October 2020 after Portland police said he had caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to windows in downtown Portland, including at the Oregon Historical Society, during a destructive protest that activists called the “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage.”


Muhammed has also been active in the Indianapolis protest scene. According to reporting from The Indianapolis Star, he organized peaceful marches last summer and was criticized after hugging an officer during one march.


Read Next: Citing Inadequate Resources, Portland Police Watched as Right- and Left-Wing Demonstrators Clashed, Rioted



Hannah Ray Lambert
Hannah Ray Lambert

Hannah Ray Lambert is a former staff writer for Coffee or Die who previously covered everything from murder trials to high school trap shooting teams. She spent several months getting tear gassed during the 2020-2021 civil unrest in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not working, Hannah enjoys hiking, reading, and talking about authors and books on her podcast Between Lewis and Lovecraft.

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